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Opinion: How Budget ‘Trailer Bills’ Get Misused

/in , /by /CalMattersby Dan Walters

To understand a sharp-elbows squabble that’s developing behind the scenes in the state Capitol, one must first understand “pumped-storage hydro,” a way for electrical energy to be stored.

In its simplest form, water stored in a reservoir is released to generate power as it flows into a second reservoir at a lower elevation. Later, when the electrical grid’s need for power diminishes, the water is pumped back into the upper reservoir so the cycle can be repeated when demand increases.

It’s not a new technology; in fact it’s been around for more than a century although never more than a marginal factor in global power generation.

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State Launches Audit of Sexual Harassment Policies at Powerful Southern California Water Agency

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Adam Elmahrek

State authorities approved an audit of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California over its handling of sexual harassment complaints, following allegations that leaders at the powerful water agency tolerated bullying and abuse of women in the workforce.

The audit was adopted during a hearing Wednesday afternoon of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee and comes after a Times investigation earlier this year found a pattern of complaints from women enrolled in the district’s trades apprenticeship program.

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FRS II-water project-Mission Trails Regional Park-water infrastructure

Water Project in Mission Trails Park More Than 50% Complete

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The San Diego County Water Authority’s Mission Trails FRS II water project is now more than halfway complete.

The project will upgrade the Water Authority’s untreated water system in Mission Trails Regional Park. When finished in 2022, the upgrades will provide more reliable water delivery to treatment plants that serve the central and south sections of San Diego County.

Construction began in March 2020 just as the coronavirus pandemic began. As an essential infrastructure project, construction on the water project continued during the pandemic.

The project includes construction of a new 5-million-gallon underground covered tank, flow control facility and pipeline connections. The largest component of the project is the building of the underground tank called a flow regulatory structure (FRS II) which will be used to balance flows in the aqueduct system.

Roof pour begins on water project

One June 11, the pouring of concrete to create the roof for FRS II began. FRS II will be the second underground water tank in the park – both work to efficiently move water through the region.

Construction efforts are also underway to build the new flow control facility. Once construction is complete, the work area will be graded to its previous contours and revegetated with native plants – many seeded from plants within the park itself.

New construction activities have begun about a half mile north of the FRS II. This most northern construction site will be used to connect the water flowing through the Water Authority’s pipelines to the FRS II.

Some trails closed for construction safety

To keep trail users safe, some trails are closed through early 2022 when work is complete. Signs are posted to clearly mark the closures, detours and provide a map to find alternative routes. In addition, the Water Authority created an interactive map showing the location of the closed trails. Go to www.sdcwa.org/mission-trails-FRS to view the map and learn more about the project.

Mission Trails FRS II water project construction

Construction crews formed and poured the walls of the Flow Regulatory Structure in December 2020. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority

CWA Approves Rate Increase, Two-Year Budget

/in , /by /Fallbrook Village Newsby Joe Naiman

The San Diego County Water Authority board meeting of June 24 included approval of SDCWA rates and charges for calendar year 2022 and approval of a two-year CWA budget.

Fallbrook Public Utility District General Manager Jack Bebee, Helix Water District board member Joel Scalzitti, and Rainbow Municipal Water District General Manager Tom Kennedy cast the only CWA board votes against the $1,693,496,900 budget covering fiscal years 2021-22 and 2022-23.

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Fire-adapted, drought deciduous plants flourish in California coastal sage scrub. Photo: Couleur/Pixabay Native plant communities

Native Plant Communities in Sustainable Landscaping

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Plants growing wild naturally arrange themselves into communities with other plant varieties based on their shared characteristics such as water and nutrient needs. This natural selection extends to interactions with each other, and with other species such as insects, birds, and other animals.

As a result, we see the same plant communities occurring repeatedly in natural landscapes under similar conditions.

Local native plant communities evolve together over a long period of time.  These plants work together to compete for nutrients, sunlight, and other resources.  They flourish together, to the point of “rejecting” non-native plant varieties attempting to establish themselves. While non-native plants may be equally adapted as native plants to the climate conditions of a particular area, they are at a disadvantage.

By learning about the San Diego region’s native plant communities, and selecting plants that like to live together in communities for sustainable landscaping, homeowners can take advantage of these strengths and the resulting hardiness.

Three examples of San Diego region plant communities

California Coastal Prairie Community

Perennial flowers outnumber the native grass species in California coastal prairies. Photo: Lloyd Waters / Pixabay Native plant communities

Perennial flowers outnumber the native grass species in California coastal prairies. Photo: Lloyd Waters / Pixabay

California’s coastal prairies are North America’s most diverse grasslands. Perennial flowers outnumber the native grass species. Plants include: California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica), Blue-eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium), Fern Leaf Yarrow (Achillea ‘Moonshine’), Seaside Daisy (Erigeron glaucus), and Cliff Buckwheat (Eriogonum parvifolium).

California Coastal Sage Scrub Community

Fire-adapted, drought deciduous plants flourish in California coastal sage scrub. Photo: Couleur/Pixabay Native plant communities

Fire-adapted, drought deciduous plants flourish in California coastal sage scrub. Photo: Couleur/Pixabay

Fire-adapted, drought-deciduous plants flourish in California coastal sage scrub.  This habitat is rapidly disappearing due to urbanization in southern California. Fortunately, some areas, including the San Diego Safari Park Biodiversity Reserve, have been conserved. Plants include Grey Musk Sage (Salvia Pozo Blue), Sticky Monkeyflower (Diplacus aurantiaus), San Diego Sage (Salvia munzia), Fuschia Gooseberry (Ribes speciosum), and Woolly Bluecurls (Trichostema lanatum).

California Chaparral Community

California chaparral is adapted to heat and dust. Photo: Kim R. Hunter / Pixabay

California chaparral is adapted to heat and dust. Photo: Kim R. Hunter / Pixabay

Chaparral exists in many coastal ranges and on the western and eastern slopes of the southern California mountains. It is ‘hard’ brush that doesn’t rely as much on summer fog drip that the Coastal Sage Scrub does, and it is adapted to heat and drought. Plants include Desert Mallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua), Bent Grass (Agorstis pailens), San Diego Mountain Mahogany (Cercocarpus minutiflorus), Bush Poppy (Dendromeconi riguda), and Clumping Wild Rye (Leymus condensatus).

This article is part of a year-long series inspired by the 71-page Sustainable Landscapes Program guidebook available at SustainableLandscapesSD.org. The Water Authority and its partners also offer other great resources for landscaping upgrades, including free WaterSmart classes at WaterSmartSD.org.